Explanation:
Cradled in cosmic dust and glowing hydrogen,
stellar
nurseries in Orion the
Hunterlie at
the edge of giant molecular clouds some 1,500 light-years away.
Spanning about 30 degrees,
this breath-taking vista
stretches across the well-known constellation from
head to toe (left to right) and beyond.
At 1,500 light years away, the Great Orion
Nebula is the closest large star forming region, here visible
just right and below centre.
To its left are the
Horsehead Nebula,
M78, and
Orion's belt stars.
Sliding your cursor over the picture will also find
red giant Betelgeuse at the hunter's shoulder,
bright blue Rigel at his foot,
the Witch Head Nebula above -- and illuminated by -- Rigel,
and the glowing Lambda Orionis
(Meissa) nebula on the left, near Orion's head.
Of course, the Orion Nebula and bright stars are
easy to see with the
unaided eye, but dust clouds and emission from the extensive interstellar
gas in this nebula-rich complex,
are too faint and much harder to record.
In this mosaic of broadband telescopic images, additional image
data acquired with a narrow
hydrogen alpha filter was used to
bring out the pervasive tendrils of energized
atomic hydrogen gas like in the arc of the giant
Barnard's Loop.